This invention relates to the chemistry of inorganic compounds and, more particularly, to reacting aqueous solutions with metals (or compounds) thereof for the production of fresh ‘potable’ water, or else, at least the mitigation in part of the contaminants in industrial waste streams and the like contaminated water.
It is an object of the invention to utilize the properties of micro-galvanic couples in aqueous solutions for the production of fresh or ‘potable’ drinking water. Micro-galvanic couples are mechanically alloyed metals (typically, a pair of such metals) that are relatively far apart from each other on the electrochemical series. Mechanical alloying may by accomplished by repeatedly flattening, fracturing and cold welding metal powders in ball mills or hammer mills or the like, and typically within inert atmospheres.
It is an aspect of the invention that the preferred galvanic cell (ie., an aluminum-iron, Al—Fe) galvanic cell that preferably contains Iron (Fe) to about the five mole percent relative to ninety-five mole percent of Aluminum (Al) can produce in excess of 2,000 times (two-thousand times) its weight in fresh potable water. More accurately, it is calculated that one pound (1 lb.) of such Al—Fe galvanic cells can produce two-thousand ninety-eight pounds (2,098 lbs.) of fresh potable water (eg., ˜250 gallons) by the methods in accordance with the invention.
Or in other words, one pound (1 lb.) of Al—Fe galvanic cells can produce, by the methods in accordance with the invention, about one (1) cubic meter of fresh potable water.
A number of additional features and objects will be apparent in connection with the following discussion of the preferred embodiments and examples with reference to the drawings.